One of the things I love most about spring, besides the obvious (hello warmth and sunshine!), is rhubarb. I’ve loved rhubarb since I was a little girl and my mom would grow it in her garden and make pies. I suck at making pies, so I usually make a crisp (see my recipe for Low-FODMAP Rhubarb Crisp). I also have a strawberry-rhubarb galette in my cookbook, which is a kind of deconstructed pie, which I can handle. This year I decided to try making a coffee cake.
This is similar to a gluten-free coffee cake I posted several years ago (see Gluten-Free Buttermilk Coffee Cake). Instead of buttermilk, I decided to try using 99% lactose-free kefir. It makes the cake moist and tangy, like buttermilk or sour cream would. Plus, it has almost no lactose. If you are very sensitive to lactose, you can also use lactose-free milk or dairy-free milk (such as almond milk) and the cake will still turn out fine.
If you don’t care for rhubarb, this recipe works great with blueberries or strawberries as well. In fact, one of the practice cakes I took in to work had both rhubarb and blueberries. My coworkers devoured it. I don’t even think they realized it was gluten-free – or low-FODMAP for that matter!
Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Dianne's Gum-Free, Gluten-Free, Low-FODMAP Flour Blend
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons butter, chilled
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
Cake
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups Dianne's Gum-Free, Gluten-Free, Low-FODMAP Flour Blend (6 oz.)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup low-fat, plain, lactose-free kefir* (lactose-free milk or almond milk may be used)
- 1 cup chopped rhubarb
Glaze
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 to 3 teaspoons lactose-free milk (almond milk may be used)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spritz an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray.
- To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour blend, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in the butter until crumbly. Toss in the pecans. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the 1 1/4 cups flour blend, baking powder and salt.
- Beat the butter and granulated sugar until creamy in a large bowl. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Slowly add the kefir or milk while beating on low until blended. Fold in the rhubarb.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle evenly with the crumb topping. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden on top and cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool completely.
- To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, 2 teaspoons milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Add more milk by the teaspoon if needed to achieve drizzling consistency. Drizzle over top of the cooled cake. Cut into pieces and serve.
Notes
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Delicious! My grocery store happened to have frozen rhubarb in the frozen fruit section.
Very delicious!!! I used lactose free yogurt for the liquid. Thanks!
Good to know yogurt works in this recipe. Thanks!